Verizon plans to end unlimited data plans by this summer

A Verizon executive hinted Tuesday that the carrier will cease offering unlimited data plans for the iPhone as early as the middle of this summer, while also fueling speculation that Apple will release an updated Verizon iPhone later this year.

Verizon Chief Financial Officer Francis Shammo made the remarks at an investors conference, Reuters reports. According to Shammo, the carrier will probably transition to tiered pricing data plans in the "mid-summer time frame."

Shammo also told investors Tuesday that Verizon had kept the unlimited plan for the iPhone launch because it "didn't want to put up a barrier" to consumers looking to try out the handset.

Rumors emerged in early January that Verizon planned to offer unlimited data to iPhone customers. Rival AT&T began limiting its data plans last year, but quietly began offering some of its iPhone customers unlimited data again in January in an effort to keep them from switching to Verizon.

After a leaked memo revealed that new iPhone 4 customers on Verizon would be offered just a $30 unlimited data plan, Verizon COO Lowell McAdam went on record as saying the unlimited data plan would only be a temporary offer, with tiered pricing coming in "the not too distant future."

The report noted that shares of Verizon fell 2.4 percent Tuesday after Shammo warned that a new iPhone could negatively affect profit margins. "There could be some (margin) lumpiness when you launch the phone," he said. "If there happens to be a new one that comes out, that quarter might not look so good (either)."

According to one analyst, Shammo's remarks serve as evidence that an updated CDMA iPhone would arrive later this year. "I would take that comment as a pretty strong signal there's an iPhone refresh coming to Verizon in the third quarter," said Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin.

Last week, Verizon CEO Dan Mead hinted that an LTE-capable iPhone from Apple is in the works. The executive also reassured investors by revealing that the iPhone 4 launch had been the largest in company history, contrary to reports that had suggested a more lackluster launch.

I've been saying since the Verizon iPhone came out that unlimited data would end by the time the iPhone 5 came out. Verizon needed to sweeten the deal for those considering waiting for an expected iPhone 5 this summer.

We have to accept the fact that all you can eat internet is over...I wouldn't be surprised if we see tiered pricing on home internet in the future...

This is a very real threat. Usage-based billing (A.K.A. metered internet) was already set to roll out in Canada, but a consumer revolt supported by the government forced the CRTC (the arms-length regulatory agency) to back off and commit to a full review of its new policy. A decision is expected in a month or two, but to be sure this is a test case for US ISPs. If the new billing model is forced down the throats of consumers in Canada it's only a matter of time before it happens in the US as well. As people eschew cable in favor of self-directed on-line programming ISPs will be looking for ways to get their figurative pound of flesh one way or another; witness Comcast's recently approved takeover of NBC, which will allow it to not only control delivery but content as well.

This is a very real threat. Usage-based billing (A.K.A. metered internet) was already set to roll out in Canada, but a consumer revolt supported by the government forced the CRTC (the arms-length regulatory agency) to back off and commit to a full review of its new policy. A decision is expected in a month or two, but to be sure this is a test case for US ISPs. If the new billing model is forced down the throats of consumers in Canada it's only a matter of time before it happens in the US as well. As people eschew cable in favor of self-directed on-line programming ISPs will be looking for ways to get their figurative pound of flesh one way or another; witness Comcast's recently approved takeover of NBC, which will allow it to not only control delivery but content as well.

That wouldnt work..Companies like Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Epix, and CinemaNow, thrive on their customers having unlimited access to their home broadband. That would seriously jeopardize their business and I think we would see a major revolt.

This is a very real threat. Usage-based billing (A.K.A. metered internet) was already set to roll out in Canada, but a consumer revolt supported by the government forced the CRTC (the arms-length regulatory agency) to back off and commit to a full review of its new policy. A decision is expected in a month or two, but to be sure this is a test case for US ISPs. If the new billing model is forced down the throats of consumers in Canada it's only a matter of time before it happens in the US as well.

That ruling only affected some of the smaller ISPs in Canada. Rogers and Bell already provide tiered pricing. If you go over the max, you pay $x per GB up to a maximum of $50.

I don't have to accept anything. I am the consumer. Currently, T-Mobile offers the best deal in terms of all you can use rates and plans. If everybody stops offering it, I will not use it at all. Unlike in Europe us Americans love to let companies walk all over us. The government created the Internet, the people own the airwaves, yet we let these companies rape us.

I just read the other day many big companies like Bank of America pay zero dollars in taxes. So, they contribute nothing, but want us to pay more on their behalf.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaseism

We have to accept the fact that all you can eat internet is over...I wouldn't be surprised if we see tiered pricing on home internet in the future...

That wouldnt work..Companies like Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Epix, and CinemaNow, thrive on their customers having unlimited access to their home broadband. That would seriously jeopardize their business and I think we would see a major revolt.

Revolt how? I don't see it. I think the best days of the Internet are behind us now that the big boys are getting ready to have their way. Who is going to stop them? The congressional boot licks?

I thought LTE was supposed to solve or at least ease the bandwidth problem in cellular networks. If its delivering a faster theoretical throughput without a fatter pipe (in a sense that all of us can squeeze into it at high speed at once), what the hell is the point. If it does allow for more throughput, why get rid of unlimited data plans.